Just Too Busy: Taking Your Family on a Radical Sabbatical

Joanne Kraft

Product Details

1. Paperback: 192 pages

1. Publisher: Beacon Hill Press

1. Language: English

1. Date of reading: May 2, 2012

Point: Joanne Kraft shows how detrimental overly-busy lives can be, and what her family did to be pro-active in that area.

Path:  Kraft explains what most of our lives look like. Busy, overworked, etc. She uses her own life and family as an example of where she was and what they did to change their situation. As a family, they had a whole year that they did not participate in extracurricular activities and they had one family field trip every month. She goes on to explain what her family members thought and even some roadblocks along the way.

Agreement: This book is a very accurate representation of our society and culture as a whole. I liked the idea of stepping back and evaluating all of our areas of involvement. I appreciated her dealing with the fact that many of the activities or possessions in life are not a “right” or a “need” but a desire. I also appreciated her emphasis on not living our lives based upon what other people think, but doing what you need to do in your life for God’s glory.

Disagreement: I would have liked to see more of a Gospel-centered focus in the book. Christ was mentioned, but it seems as though the main reasons given to slow life down and not attend all of the nonessential events were to enjoy your children before they move away rather than the glorification of Christ. I also would have appreciated a section in which the book really dealt with the heart of busyness. There were a couple of brief references to things that sounded slightly like psychology, but as always we need to read with discernment.

Personal App: I need to ask myself if I am too busy doing a lot of things that do not have eternal value. Also, what are my motivations for being involved in the areas in which I am?

Stars: 4 out of 5

I would recommend it.

Running Scared: fear, worry, and the God of rest

Running Scared: fear, worry, and the God of rest

Edward T. Welch

Product Details

1. Paperback: 317 pages

1. Publisher: New Growth Press

Point: Welch takes an in-depth look at fear, worry, and anxiety in his book. God is bigger than our fears, and we can trust in Him.

Path: Welch has written this in the form of meditations. He recommends reading one chapter a day and talking with someone about the chapter before moving on to the next one.

Welch shows that all people fear. It is something that we do not have to learn. We fear and worry about things which we value and cherish. Through a discussion of manna in the Old Testament and many passages about fearing in the New Testament, Welch shows the root of fear and how that can be dealt with in our lives.

Agreement: I enjoyed many of the thoughtful chapters on fear itself. One of his main points is: “We are fearful when something we value is in jeopardy” (page 80). This is apparent in all of our lives.

Disagreement: I agree with the majority of what Welch says, but there are just a few times where the reader may become confused if they do not know from where Welch is coming. For example, Welch states on page 47, “After you listen to your own heart, listen to God.” If taken out of context at all, one might think that Welch is condoning listening to our own hearts before we listen to God. I believe he is actually pointing out that we check our hearts to see if we are living in fear, and then we need to listen to what God’s Word has to say about that fear.

Stars: 4.5 out of 5

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it.

The Organized Heart by Staci Eastin

Product Details

1. Kindle Ebook

1. Publisher: Cruciform Press

1. Date of reading: January 10, 2012

Point: Eastin says, “My hope for this book is that it will help you serve God and your family more effectively, more fruitfully, and with greater peace and joy.”

Path: The author delves into the reasons behind the disorganized lives we sometimes live. Showing how the sinfulness of our heart often is the reason that we are not organized, she covers four main idols of the heart: perfectionism, busyness, possessions, and leisure.

Sources: She refers to several other books such as Lou Priolo’s Pleasing People, Carol Cornish and Elyse Fitzpatrick’s Women Helping Women, and Jeremiah Buroughs’ Contentment.

Agreement: This was a wonderful look at organization. Eastin brings out many reasons why we do not live organized lives, and also many reasons that the “organized” lives that we live may not be pleasing to God. Are we fearing what man may think of us if we are not organized and seemingly put-together, or are we striving to honor God?

Personal App: This was a great and refreshing way to view organization. In a culture where organization is sort of the “in” thing to do, it was a blessing to be able to look at why it is important to be organized. It makes me double-check my life and see if I am trying to be organized for the right reasons!

One of my favorite quotes was this: “God is not glorified in the amount of things we get done, the number of spaces we fill on our calendars, or the length of our to-do lists. God is pleased when we serve him with sincere hearts.”

Stars: 4.5 out of 5

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it.

What Did You Expect?: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage

By Paul David Tripp

Point: This book is “a detailed description of the daily work of love that must be done with commitment and joy when a flawed person is married to a flawed person and they are living together in a fallen world.” (Page 282)

Path: Throughout his book, Tripp presents six different commitments that spouses must make in order to have a God-honoring marriage. He brings in these aspects: confession and forgiveness, changing our daily agendas, building bonds of trust, building relationship of love, dealing with differences with appreciation and grace, and working to protect our marriage.

Agreement: I thought that this book was a very solidly founded on biblical principles for marriage. Marriage books frequently focus solely on romance, but Tripp brings out the fact that everything in life (including marriage) is based on worship. Who am I worshipping, myself or God? He is by no means against romance, but he says that romance is the fruit and not the root of a good marriage.

Disagreement: I did not find principles in this book that I would classify as unbiblical, but I do think that it would have been helpful to have a few more verses accompanying the principles that were listed. Be prepared to read several of the same stories/illustrations a couple of times throughout the book as well.

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it.